Norfolk independent school with £40,000-a-year fees slammed by inspectors

Cre8 Futures in Southgates Road, Great Yarmouth. The independent school has been rated as "inadequate" by Ofsted inspectors. Picture: Submitted

Submitted

A “relationship breakdown” between directors and inadequate measures to ensure pupils’ safety has led a £40,000-a-year independent school in Norfolk to achieve Ofsted’s lowest grade on its first inspection.

Cre8 Futures Learning Centre in Great Yarmouth was judged inadequate in all areas in a damning report which listed a litany of failures in safeguarding, teaching and governance.

But inspectors said the headteacher had acknowledged that she had “failed to launch” plans and processes to improve the school.

The independent school in Southgates Road, which opened in April, has seven pupils on its roll aged 12 to 16 and annual fees of up to £40,000, according to Ofsted – comparable to some of the country’s top fee-paying schools.

The watchdog’s report said most pupils had “previously experienced disruption in their learning” – but during the inspection in October they were on a reduced timetable to help them “resettle” following “turmoil” between adults at the school.

Inspectors said a lack of communication between directors had affected leaders’ ability “to provide adequate provision across many areas of the school’s work” – and that its two governors “have not yet had any impact on improving the school because too much of their time has been spent mediating between the directors”.

The inspection report said: “Leaders have not always provided an environment that offers the security, consistency and safety that pupils need.”

It added that the chair of governors “recognises that the current arrangements are untenable”.

Inspectors said there was “little in the way of strategic planning” for the school and that work was needed on the curriculum and systems for monitoring pupils’ progress and tackling poor attendance.

But they did note strengths including the pupils’ good development “spiritually, morally, socially and culturally” through activities such as the school’s breakfast club. Pupils who attended were said to be well behaved with the inspectors said leaders and staff were “passionate about helping pupils to be successful in their learning”, with pupils marking particularly good progress in English.

Cre8 Futures Learning Centre was approached for comment.

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